The Postponement Of Champions Trophy Has Given Indian Cricketers An Unexpected But Welcome Holiday, Writes Vinay Nayudu

What do you do if you get an unexpected month-long holiday? Just ask the Indian cricketers, who are in the midst of one such delightful break, for answers. Seldom in recent years have they got such a long sojourn away from the game. It has materialised by accident, of course, with the postponement of the Champions Trophy — which was to be held in Pakistan from September 12 to 28. But the players are not complaining. So what exactly have they been doing? Well, for Sachin Tendulkar it has come as a blessing in disguise. After missing the ODI series in Sri Lanka following an injury, he would be happy with as much time that he can get as possible. He has mostly stayed at home, enjoying R&R as he regains his full fitness. It has also given him space to meet his commercial commitments. So there he was, umpiring, as his son batted along with the families of one of his sponsors. “Each day at home is special,’’ is how Tendulkar termed the recess, adding, “I haven’t got much time to spend with my family and such occasions are really valuable.’’ While Tendulkar loved to be at home, some others like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh have been enjoying the outdoors — this time for a different kind of experience. This period also brought Dhoni two of his biggest achievements — the Khel Ratna and ICC’s ODI Player of the Year award. Interestingly, the ODI and T20 skipper didn’t receive either of the awards personally. During the Arjuna awards ceremony, he was in Sri Lanka but it is not yet clear what really kept him away from the ICC awards show in Dubai. Mostly, Dhoni has been shuttling between his hometown Ranchi and the studios in Mumbai to shoot for commercials. He also attended the release of one of his friend’s music albums, the video of which also features Dhoni. In between, he also found time to buy himself a diamond-studded watch. When it came to breathing fresh air, the dashing cricketer headed to the hills in Uttaranchal with his close buddies. “He’s been chilling out just like others,’’ said a source close to Dhoni. For flamboyant Yuvraj it was a little different. He went on a boat cruise and posed for photo-shoots on the white beaches of Dubai, just before the ICC awards night. Harbhajan Singh chose to join teammates Irfan Pathan, Sree Santh and Dinesh Karthik for a television dance show to be premiered on a newly launched channel on September 26, besides letting his hair down to play drums during a commercial shoot. For the young and rising Rohit Sharma it was back to cricket (Buchi Babu tourney and the A series) but he too found time to fly from Chennai to Delhi to fulfil a contractual engagement. The break brought big delight for paceman Zaheer Khan, who revelled in Sri Lanka after a 7-month injury layoff. “It’s been just great to get this vacation, more so after a good series,’’ Zaheer said soon after returning from the island. “It has also come during the Ramzan period and I will spend most of my time with my mother and other members of our family in Pune,’’ added the speedster, who spends time at his restaurant whenever possible. Zaheer had attended to his commercial commitments during his layoff, including one where he got his mother to act with him. “Initially she said yes but later when I went ahead with it she was more than surprised. But she managed it well,’’ explained Zaheer. Pace sensation and the baby of the Indian team Ishant Sharma got time to celebrate his 20th birthday with his mother. Among those attending the bash were Virender Sehwag and wife Aarti and Dhoni besides a few other members of the team. For some, like S Badrinath, it was time to finetune his skills. The middleorder batsman is leading the India A team in the tri-series involving Australia ‘A’ and New Zealand ‘A’. “It wasn’t a holiday for me as I was busy playing throughout. I am focused on the game. After the tri-series we have the big series against Australia coming up and I want to be ready for that,’’ he said. The other illustrious members of the Indian team — Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble — too made good of the break attending functions in their home cities and states. Dravid, of course, played in the Buchi Babu too. vinay.nayudu@timesgroup.com

1 Yuvraj Singh enjoys a boat cruise in Dubai 2 Irfan Pathan during shooting of a TV show 3 Yuvraj on the beach in Dubai 4 Harbhajan Singh during a commercial shoot in Delhi 5 Sachin with son Arjun in Mumbai 6 M S Dhoni at a financial literacy programme